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Researchers produce 52.3MV/m gradient field with niobium SC accelerator cavity

Researchers at Japan's KEK High Energy Accelerator Research Organization have successfully produced a 52.3MV/m gradient field with a niobium superconducting accelerator cavity, reportedly reaching the theoretical accelerating gradient limit for current state of the art cavity shapes.

Founder of Meyer Tool & Mfg. dies February 6

Frank Meyer, founder of Meyer Tool & Mfg., longtime CSA supporter and valued member of the cryogenic community, passed away on February 6.

CSA to help promote “Absolute Zero” TV special

CSA has signed on as part of a national partnership program, to help engage the American audience in a story that touches their lives in innumerable ways, a two-part PBS television special based on the Tom Shachtman book, "Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold."

First 600m of LHC cryogenic distribution line passes initial tests

The first 600m of the cryogenic distribution line to supply superfluid helium to the superconducting magnets at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN have passed initial testing at room and cryogenic temperatures.

BOC Gases plant commemorates 40th anniversary

BOC Gases commemorated the 40th anniversary of its Otis KS helium plant, one of the world's largest, which refines and produces more helium in one month than it did in its first year of operation.

NHMFL at FSU commissions world-record 900 MHz magnet

CSA corporate sustaining member The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University marked a major scientific leap forward with the commissioning of the world-record 900 MHz magnet in July.

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Dilution Refrigerators

Dilution refrigerators are a common technique for reaching temperatures below 1K, particularly where continuous cooling at these temperatures is required. Helium exists in two stable isotopes: 4He and 3He. Naturally occurring 3He is extremely rare, constituting less than 1 part per million of helium gas. However, 3He can be manufactured,...

Oxygen Deficiency Hazards

Oxygen Deficiency Hazards (ODH) are a significant safety issue in cryogenic facilities. ODH occurs when inert gases such as nitrogen, helium or argon displace room air and thus lower the percentage of oxygen in the space below that required for human life. OSHA defines an area as oxygen deficient if...

Kelvin Temperature Scale

The Kelvin temperature scale is the principal temperature scale used in cryogenics and science. The kelvin is also one of the seven base units in the Système International d’Unités (SI) and is the unit of thermodynamic temperature. Thermodynamic temperature is a fundamental physical quantity (like mass, length or electrical current)...

Latest in Cryo Central

Magnets

From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. Particle physics uses accelerators to recreate the conditions of the early universe in an attempt to piece together the complex puzzle of how we got to where we are today. These huge machines are used...

Energy Storage

From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. With power lines increasingly congested and prone to instability, strategic injection of brief bursts of real power can play a crucial role in maintaining grid reliability. Small-scale Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) systems, based on...

Astronomy

ASTRONOMY IN SPACE by Peter V. Mason, retired, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Visiting Associate, California Institute of Technology. Pmason@alumni.caltech.edu In thinking about the reasons to perform astronomy in space, we first consider the effect of the earth’s atmosphere. On a scale of decreasing energy, gamma rays, cosmic rays, X-rays and...

Cryocoolers

What is a Cryocooler? A mechanism that can extract heat from an object (cooler) and by doing so draw its temperature down below approximately 150 Kelvin (cryo). — (Courtesy Dr. Willy Gully) What is the difference between a Cryocooler and a Cryostat? A cryostat is any device designed to maintain...

Latest in Ask the Experts

An Issue of Pressure and Flow Rate in a Supply Tank

Please help solve this problem: A supply tank requires a vaporizer to generate sufficient pressure to pump stored fluid up into a vehicle or tank. The available head is limited as the tank level falls and it is important to minimize the system pressure drop to maintain the desired flow...

Using MLI on VJ Line Joints or Cryo Storage Tanks

When installing Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) blankets on VJ line joints or cryo storage tanks should they be wrapped and tied down tight or loose? These are usually pre-cut to size. Also should they have an access hole at the point of where the molecular sieve is installed to help...

Separated layers of ice over a pipe

I want to know that why there are different layers of ice over a pipe carrying a cryogenic fluid, each layer separated with clear marks / lines? What do these layers signify?

Using nitrogen as a cryogen

Is it possible to achieve -200˚C using nitrogen as a cryogen?

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